THABA NCHU: SLOWLY MAKING ITS MARK!

By TEBOHO MASAKALA (Novelist and short story writer)

Due to my work as a journalist for Mangaung Issue I interview a lot of people, from national celebrities to ordinary local people. In one of my interviews I remember during the Macufe auditions on 16 September 2011 at Mmabana cultural centre in Thaba Nchu, I came across the acclaimed actor Mr. Babes Mphatseng who is renowned for his character as Phineus in the Sabc 2 comedy drama Moferefere Lenyalong (trouble at a wedding).

While I was interviewing him I asked him what he thought about arts in Thaba Nchu, his answer was obvious like the rest: “dead!!” He told me that Thaba Nchu is dry while they have a centre that could help develop young artists. I looked at him and I agreed it is “dry while it is paradoxically filled with talent" it could use to develop it (even though it has more than 130 years in existence). I realise the poetry and writing talent we have in Thaba Nchu is enormous.

We have so many poets, both in English and Sesotho but most of them do it for enjoyment, some want to publish books but when I intermittently ask them how far are they with them, they tell me they are still writing but had to stop as they are still busy with this and that - and at the ultimate end they join a number of people who say Thaba Nchu is dry and talentless and literature is dead. Many say writers are there, but what is the use of being a writer in Thaba Nchu?

I disagree most of the time as many great people who have gone down in history come from poor places, the likes of Jacob Zuma, Nelson Mandela and other great names who became icons and heroes despite coming from poor places. I am proud to say that this year alone, three writers penned books in Thaba Nchu; we have Sechaba Marumo with his beautiful debut book “Be the best you can be” and Michael Seisho who is a teacher also published his debut book called “They call themselves bo tau bo bla wee (township slang) and yours truly Teboho Masakala with my second book titled ‘Through it all” which is now available at Motheo FET College Library.

The bible tells us about the place Jesus was born Bethlehem in Judea. The place was undermined, looked down upon and seen as a place where nothing good came from, but the birth of Jesus changed it all as a Messiah was born in the very same backwater, hated and undermined place.

With the exciting establishment of these three authors mentioned above, this shows that Thaba Nchu has come out tops this year as far as publishing books is concerned. We are finding our feet in the literary world although it is not easy being an author in Thaba Nchu as the support is somehow limited good compared to the entertainment that is madly loved. But we must note that one cannot force a person to read, write and buy books, it has to be one’s decision.

We are starting to make our mark in the writing world, Sechaba Marumo is one of the best.; he loves Thaba Nchu so much that he even included it in his book in the introductory part. He loves the place where his identity was forged; where he got his education and writing foundation. Need we say more about Teboho Masakala’s love for Thaba Nchu also? (laugh)

Enthusiasm, zeal and love help develop writing at grass roots level and inspire the young ones who want to be great writers. I love and respect the progress of Bloemfontein and I call it Free State’s heart (hub) of literature with lots of writing clubs and poetry sessions.

We have powerful female poets like Charmaine Mrwebi who continues to motivate writers in general. Charmaine is from Thaba Nchu but based in the city of Roses. I look at Bloemfontein for inspiration and use that inspiration to turn my home town (Thaba Nchu) like it.

I agree we still have a lot to learn, and it’s going to be a long journey but we will not despair, we will not give up, we shall take our stand in the literature world, we shall fight for the land of Thaba Nchu to be heard, counted, not to be underestimated but to be recognised. We shall take the weapon of expression which is the pen and fight to give our place a name amongst the great!

- Teboho Masakala, ”proudly Thaba Nchu” has already published two books, and is working on other manuscripts. Email comments to tebohomasakala@yahoo.com or facebook: Teboho Masakala

A Sublime and Unforgettable Macufe Wordfest!

By Flaxman Qoopane (above)

About hundred and fifty Free State writers attended the second annual Macufe Wordfest at the Braam Fischer Building in Bloemfontein on 6-7 October this year.

Vincent Khetha, Director: Heritage, Museum and Language services said ‘The Free State government and the Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation support our novelist, playwrights , scriptwriters, short writers, poets and perform in the Free State...

In 2008 Macufe Wordfest was launched, In 2009 and 2010 we did not have Macufe Wordfest, from 2011 we will make sure that Macufe Wordfest is celebrated annually where we promote literature in our province, we hope the Macufe Wordfest 2011 will be a success.”

Advocate Tsoarelo Malakoane, HOD of the Department of Sport, Arts Culture and Recreation said: “Macufe won’t be complete without Macufe Wordfest. We need to develop our Free State writers. We need to create spaces throughout the year. We need to create our own K.P.D Maphallas,”

Skills Development Workshops were conducted by Thapelo Moraka (scriptwriter), Tsietsi Mohapi (writer) Mathene Mahanke (novelist), Mamolupe Dladla (lecturer) and Letshase Nakedi (writer).

Thapelo Moraka the writer dealt with the format of writing theatrical plays. Tsietsi Mohapi guided the writers on how to write a drama and a play. Mathene Mahanke dealt with the format of how to write short stories. Mamolupe Dladla presented a lecture on how to write a novel, encouraging burgeoning writers to be creative.

Manana Monareng-Stone, Programme Manager for Research, Training and Development from the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) presented a topic on the Agency. Kundayi Masanzu from Academic, Non-Fiction, Authors Association of South Africa (ANFASA) addressed the audience about copyright.

The Macufe Wordfest was attended by well known writer, Siphiwo Mahala, Deputy-Director: Books and Publishing from the National Department of Arts and Culture in Pretoria. He was accompanied by another novelist, Thando Mgqolozana who wrote the novel, A man who is not a man.

A SERIES OF UNDESIRABLE EVENTS

Book: A series of Undesirable Events
Author: Deon-Simphiwe Skade
Publisher: National Library of South Africa
Reviewer: Omoseye Bolaji

“This is a series of linked short stories with interesting characters and which deal with topics such as AIDS and infidelity. This author shows exceptional talent... “

So writes a perceptive reader from the Centre of the Book in Cape Town whilst warmly recommending the publication of this book by the sponsors. Those familiar with the lambent talent of the author, Deon-Simphiwe Skade would not be surprised in anyway.

This is the first published book of Deon-Simphiwe Skade, prolific and proficient blogger, reviewer, poet, philosopher, and intellectual. Here he not only confirms his awesome potential, but also whets the literary appetite of voracious readers.

This book is a collection of well-written short stories jostling alongside complementary poems. Titles are: An old flame that went out, My Epidemic, your Epidemic, Last Night, It’s a Secret, Class Act, Her Attitude, His Face.

Others are - A Broken Man, Matters of the Heart, In Need, Yesterday, Suspension, Time Keeps Its Own Time, It never rains but Pours, and Our Today, The Future.

The disparate stories here are essentially told in the first person, with the author showing astonishing skill and empathy with his characters, male and female. Arguably this reaches a peak in the story, Class Act.

The author is famed for his propensity to call himself a “dreamer” in real life, and dreams certainly loom large in this work. The pertinent question is: are they successfully integrated into the warp and weft of the stories?

Here, one might well be subjective, adumbrating the furore over the late Lenrie Peters work, The second round with its profusion of dream-like sequences...and of course Ayi Kwei Armah s early classic, The Beautyful ones are not yet born. Then there is the hilarious, finely written story, Last Night. It is also tinged with irony, and redolent with sexual undercurrents. And how’s this for a touch of the great D.H Lawrence:

“The moon watched us caress. It lit over the perfect world of perfect persons, a man and a beautiful woman under its unwinking stare and the stars who winked as if celebrating our glorious kiss. Table Mountain could have peeked over the balcony to witness us under the conspiratorial luminescence of the moon.”

(Page 28, A Series of undesirable events)

As one would expect from a grammarian like the author, and a fastidious craftsman to boot, the book is well edited and immensely readable, with fine descriptions. How about “the ping ping against the porcelain.” “the gulp I took snailed down my throat as if it was a hard bubble constrained by meagre space preventing it to move downwards,”…

For those who think this review is more like a panegyric, let me end by stating what I do NOT like about this book - its title. I really don’t know, but the title, though apt, just does not do it for me. So now you know!

J.J MOILOA's TSIETSI E LATELLA TSHOTLEHO

Tsietsi e latella tshotleho. By J.J MOILOA
Book: Tsietsi e latella tshotleho
Author: J.J Moiloa
Review by Rebaone Motsalane

What I love to hate about experienced and gifted writers is their ability to grab my attention until the end of the book, though sometimes it requires a lot of patience to do so.

I had to read until page 53 to get to the essence of the story and only then the plot of the story was revealed. I was half-way through and about to finish and still not sure about the storyline.

The story picks up very slowly and the only thing that kept my attention is the background of the writer as he is highly esteemed and respected.

At the end, my curiosity paid off and over-powered the frustration of trying to figure the storyline out. It was beautifully written and revealed.

The book is about a man who clearly is not in his right mind and highly agitated. However at the beginning the story is not clear about the cause and his motives. He has a plan which the reader is not clear about, whether it is to rob a mine or something else. At the beginning I thought he was there to enrich himself, only to find out that he was there to avenge his wife’s rape which resulted in a son that he hated so much.

He lays a trap to stage an incident and blow up the culprit and to finally put matters to rest and go back home. True, the accident happened where not only his enemy got injured, but two other innocent men who knew nothing about the hatred between the two.

When they all thought that they will never be rescued, he confessed to his friend how he stole explosives to cause the accident and apologises to his friend. He takes the blame and at the same time relives his pain and suffering that got him there; he unloads his frustrations.

However, a sting remains in the tail…

AWOONOR'S "COMES THE VOYAGER AT LAST"

The author, Kofi Awoonor, educated in Ghana, London, and New York, is a well known long-established African writer. This, his second novel, is an interesting travel narrative that combines African and African American history (the forced removal of West Africans to the New World) with myth. The story unfolds in the mind of its central character, an African American who can trace his ancestry to slavery and the Civil War, as he returns to West Africa for a spiritual reunion with the people. This main narrative is juxtaposed with an italicized account of West Africans being led to a slave ship more than 300 years earlier. This book reads as one Ghanaian's version of Alex Haley's African American family saga Roots…

MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS - a review

MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS
By Omoseye Bolaji

Review by Public Eye

Omoseye Bolaji’s latest book: Miscellaneous Writings, is one that encapsulates many of his shorter writings over the last two years or so. Many of the articles
had been published in diverse international journals and magazines.
Now they comprehensively appear in book form for the first time.

The book is touted by many literary pundits as the 30th published work
of the author (Bolaji) who is a novelist, short story writer,
playwright, literary critic, poet, journalist, and editor.

The essays in this work straddle many topics and individuals. The
author touches on the world of literature; sundry writers and their
works, sports, social affairs, modern technology, arts and culture
generally, music, among others.

As a literary critic himself, it is not surprising that Bolaji has a
number of chapters devoted to writers. He includes chapters on writers
as varied as DH Lawrence, NMM Duman, Lewis Nkosi, Teboho Masakala,
Sheila Khala, Ola Rotimi, Camara Laye etc

For me, his articles on the distinguished Zimbabwean writer, Dambudzo
Marechera; and on the late Lewis Nkosi stand out . His approach to
Nkosi is a bit different from the conventional one – he focuses on his
undercutting “humour”, and the effect of this is that many would feel
like grabbing a copy of the man’s works!

Bolaji ruminates on a number of issues in this work. He states that
modern world for example takes technology for granted, and can not
appreciate the marvels of the world we live in. We tend to forget (the
young do not even know) that things like cell phones and internet are
hardly up to 20 years old in the entire human existence! But Bolaji
philosophises on such matters, and puts things into perspective.

It is for this reason that some literary commentators, including the
current writer, believe that Bolaji shares a lot in common with
writers like the Bronte sisters who lived almost two hundred years
ago; these were nigh mystical people who seemed to have one foot in
this world and one elsewhere; realising the futility and vulnerability
of human existence.

Some of the chapters here adumbrate Bolaji’s fiction, moving us
intensely, despite their brevity. Read the “essay” titled “Stumped”
for example, and we see Bolaji in microcosm: the pacy writing, twists
and turns, and startling conclusion. Elsewhere, Bolaji brings in the
artist/painter Stephen Achugwo in classical fashion too, with quick
strokes that fascinate us.

To mention but a few of the chapters in this new work: The wretched of
the earth, The allure of the festive season, Wordsmiths to the fore,
Bastions of defence, The radiance of the king, A tale of two crooks,
The pulsating vanguard of change, The distinguished bards, Guitarists
with brio, Murder in the temple, The burgeoning wordsmith

Omoseye Bolaji’s other books include They Never Say When, Snippets,
Impossible Love, Fillets of Plaice, The ghostly Adversary, The
Guillotine, Tebogo’s spot of bother, Molebogeng Alitta Mokhuoa, My
Opinion, The subtle transgressor, Reverie, My life and literature,
Poems from Mauritius, Tebogo and the Haka, Tebogo and the
epithalamion, and Tebogo and the pantophagist

* This review was first published in PUBLIC EYE, Friday August 12 edition

OMOSEYE BOLAJI’s MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS (2011)

Book: Miscellaneous Writings
Author: Omoseye Bolaji
Publisher: New Voices Publishing (Cape Town)
Published: June, 2011

Omoseye Bolaji is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award, the Chancellor’s Medal from the University of the Free State, and was also conferred with a Chieftaincy title by the King of Ibadanland in West Africa. Bolaji is a well known African writer who has published lots of fiction, poetry, literary criticism, biographies, and drama.

This is his latest book, containing a selection of his recent, diverse, shorter writings for magazines, journals, anthologies etc. Topics, or/and protagonists covered in this sparkling work include:

DH Lawrence
Lewis Nkosi
The allure of Father Xmas!
The National English Literary Museum (Grahamstown)
Steve Biko
Nigerian, and South African Writers
Camara Laye
Dambudzo Marechera
NMM Duman
Gabriel Okara
Facebook
Ola Rotimi
The tormentone
Gordon Banks
Horrific Murder/Rape
Segun Odegbami
The Illustrators
Teboho Masakala
Musical Maestros
Sheila Khala
Relativity of poverty

There are also recent essays on Bolaji's literary work written by Raphael Mokoena, Deon Simphiwe-Skade, and M Mohlakela.

The Introduction to this illuminating book is written by the well known African critic and poet, Pule Lechesa.

To get a copy of this book, contact Barbara at barbara@newvoices.co.za